Chapter 21: The Long Wait is Over

AN: This is it! The last and final chapter!

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me since day 1, way back May 2010! I know this has been an incredible long journey and has finally come to its end. I know that I almost abandoned this fanfic and I have been extremely busy and had a terrible writer's block. Several books also came out after PJO that's why I lost the passion to finish this. But with your persistent reviews, I finally had the will to finish this!

This is definitely the longest chapter that I have written so far. The previous chapter comes second.

I won't keep this long. Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! I hope I gave this story justice!

"She should be awake by now."

"We'll take it from here."

"I think that you should get some rest. You've been here the whole night."

The conversation lingered around the cot Thalia was resting. She fluttered her eyes open but shut it quickly for bright light brought pain to her eyes.

"Look, she's already stirring," said someone that was clearly Percy.

"Wow! Glad you're stating the obvious there, seaweed brain!" Someone drawled a reply. I know that voice, she thought. Gods, I've missed that voice.

Headache shot right through her and she slowly clutched her head.

"Look, you're only making things worse. I am definitely sure Thalia is sporting a headache right now because of your banter. I know that you had a truce but please act like you had!" This was definitely Annabeth, with her bossy tone, no doubt. Thalia's headache subsides a bit, but better than earlier.

"But I want to stay here with her," he whined, clearly irritated at the couple.

Her breath hitched and her heart hammered wildly in her chest against her sternum, wanting to escape her ribcage.

"And looking like that in front of her? You could use a shower, you know?" Annabeth countered.

They were all currently at the infirmary. Nico shadow-traveled both he and Thalia after fighting off the monsters in the forest last night. Thalia was immediately treated as Nico gave little information to the healers present in the infirmary. (AN: I'm sorry, I seem to forget the terms used in the PJO for this was a long time ago. I know! Kill me now!) Noting the "monsters" and "fighting for gods know how long" were enough to get the healers moving and doing their job. After that, he IM-ed Percy and Annabeth. They both insisted Nico to have some rest, but being stubborn as a rock, he stayed up all night right next to Thalia, dozing on and off but never leaving her side.

It was currently after breakfast when the couple came to visit Thalia and Nico. They were informed that she's about to wake soon. Sensing that Thalia still haven't got a clue to Nico's behavior for the past four weeks tries to steer him from her and hoping that they get to explain it to her first, even though messing with other people's lives is definitely wrong. With this, they are bantering now and forcing Nico to leave the infirmary.

Nico tried to stifle a yawn but nonetheless escaped his mouth. Growling, he stood up from his seat and said, "I will just take a shower and will come back here."

"Good," Percy said while smiling cheekily and replaced Nico's seat. "I'll take it from here. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Percy and Annabeth shared a look that the tired Nico did not notice. "I'll see you later," Annabeth replied and took Nico's arm and left the infirmary.

"I know you're awake, Thalia," Percy started. "Quit the acting."

Thalia jumped slightly and released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "I'm not acting; I'm bedridden."

He crossed his arms on his chest and mused, "How much did you hear?"

"Pretty much everything, I guess?" She replied with a hoarse voice and opened an eye, thankful that it wasn't that bright anymore. Someone must have drawn the blinds shut. She opened her other eye and blinked to adjust to her surroundings.

"Good. How are you feeling?" Percy asked.

"What happened?" Thalia completely ignored his question and thought isn't it obvious to him how I'm feeling?

Percy rolled his eyes but still continued to answer her question. "You were fighting tons of monsters yesterday and Nico found you and you fell unconscious. He brought you here to the infirmary, shadow-traveled both of you. I never understood how he managed to do that, for he was also exhausted. He didn't leave your side, though, not until now."

Thalia was definitely sporting a deep shade of red on her cheeks and blinked her eyes a few times. She let out a deep breath and heard Percy chuckling beside her. "Please, do shut up." This made him laugh even harder.

"So, you're okay with Nico now?" Thalia whispered, a hint of sadness can be heard in her voice. This caught Percy's attention.

"Well," he started. "We patched things up yesterday."

"Even with Annabeth?" She whispered in disbelief, her voice growing weaker every moment.

"Even with Annabeth."

The pain she was feeling before doubled. Before showing more emotions, she put on a mask and said, "oh."

Silence filled the infirmary.

She cleared her throat and asked again, "why are you even here? I would prefer Annabeth to be here with me, rather than you."

"Ouch, that hurt. You're choosing her over your cousin?" Percy said and faked a hurt, gave a dramatic touch to his heart. "Nah, she's with Nico for the mean time, you know, keeping tabs with him."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think that it's my right to tell you this but I'll just give you a thought," Percy sighed. "How do you think Nico found you yesterday?"

She shrugged, clearly not liking the direction of this conversation they're having. Something tugged in her guts but she just brushed off the feeling.

"You see, to cut the long story short, we finally caught Nico yesterday in one of his hideouts," Percy explained and shock was evident in Thalia's face. "By using some of Annabeth's wits, she finally figured out what's wrong. A truce was made, even with me. In the afternoon, he was looking for you. It just so happened that you told me you were going to the woods and I told him that."

Her heart missed a beat but regained back to its beating, thankful that she is still alive to be hearing this. He was looking for her. "I also conducted a plan with Annabeth that I will be the one who will be talking sense with you."

"And how will you do that?" Thalia asked and raised an eyebrow. This caught his attention.

"By doing nothing," Percy mused with a smile.

"What?" Thalia scowled.

"You heard me," he tries to hold laughter in.

"Well, clearly, I need Annabeth right now," she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, no, you don't"

"Why?"

"Because she will talk some sense to you. Clearly, you don't need that and I know that once your mind is set to something, there's no stopping you. Plus I don't want you talking to her because I might lose –" Percy cut himself short before he could expose their bet. Oh, he will definitely win this bet.

"Sorry, I did not catch that last part," she asked suspiciously.

"Never mind that. Anyway, I think it will be Nico who has a lot of explaining to do with you. You know that Annabeth and I will always be here for you, right?"

"Why are you being sentimental? Am I going to die?" She shrieked and Percy laughed hysterically. Oh, what is happening? Thalia is definitely losing her composure, how un-Thalia like.

"No, you dolt! You're perfectly fine!" Percy replied after catching his breath.

"Then why are you being like that?" She asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Because I think that you were waiting for a long time and finally, the time has come."

After Annabeth led Nico to his cabin, making sure not to hide from them again, she left him and told him again to take a shower and have some much needed rest. Fighting off monsters took a lot of his energy yesterday. He took a shower and went to his bunk bed because he was tempted to take a short nap and he gave in. Unfortunately, the nap turned to a deep slumber, followed by a dream.

Leaves were crunching beneath his feet as he headed towards the clearing in the forest and there stood a bench. Seated there was a girl with long black hair; bows and arrows beside her. Sensing someone behind her, she turned around and glanced to the man approaching her. She beamed at him and gently patted the seat beside her. He hurriedly sprinted and approached her within seconds.

"Nico!"

"Bianca!"

They both exclaimed at the same time as they hugged each other. No one wanted to let go, just savoring the moment they have right now.

"I've missed you," Bianca breathed as she pulled away from her brother and smiled.

"I've missed you more!" Nico countered and smiled genuinely for the first time since god knows when. "It has been a while since we've met like this."

"I know," she mused, her eyes were now filled with tears but fought hard not the let it fall. "Oh, gods, look how big you've grown!"

Nico blushed under her sister's gaze that made her laugh. "How are you?" He asked as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Never better," she replied as she blinked her tears away and chuckled. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I guess," he shrugged. She gave him a look. "Okay, maybe not that fine."

"What seems to be the problem?" She asked as she grabbed his other free hand and traced patterns that he seemed to love since he was a child. This comforted him.

"I have been ignoring my friends for four weeks now," he started timidly. "But I've made up with Annabeth and Percy, as you already know."

"Yes," she agreed and urged him on. "Go on."

"Well, I had this argument with—"

"Thalia, yes, I know," she cut through, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "But I wouldn't like to call it an argument."

"What do you call it then?" He asked, completely confused. "I have already talked about this with Annabeth but I want to know your side."

"I would like to call it a misunderstanding," she said and winked at him. He looked appalled that made her laugh. "I know that you are not accustomed with these things, heck, I am definitely not accustomed with it either, but do yourself a favor, Nico. Stop lingering in the past."

"What do you mean?" He whispered and tears are now forming in his eyes. He can still be vulnerable, especially in front of his sister.

"The world is changing. I know this will not be easy for you but I know a lot of things have changed. I have changed," she started, her voice were cracking and tears were now cascading in her cheeks. "I am happy here and I want you to be happy too. Why not give them a chance to help you, to guide you?"

"But I still can't let you go, Bianca," his voice broke too. "Every single day, I am just thinking that I have to live for you—"

"Then live for me—"

"But I can't seem to forget you—"

"No one told you to forget about me—"

"But you were always there for me—"

"I am still here for you—"

They are both crying now, longing and fear can be felt around them.

"Look, Nico. All they wanted to do was to help you. Why not give them a chance?"

"Is it okay for you?"

"Of course!" She chuckled and cupped Nico's cheeks and brushed off the tears away.

"But what about Thalia?" Nico asked and did the same to his sister.

"What about her?" She got back to tracing patterns on her brother's palm.

"I don't know what to do about her," he sighed in defeat.

"Nico, listen to me," she started. "I just want you to enjoy your life. I did not have that chance. People are there for you, too. Give them a chance. As per Thalia, follow your heart. Do not be afraid to open up to her. Mind you, this is new to her too. Percy and Annabeth, on the other hand, are blessings in your life. Never forget that, okay?"

Nico hugged her sister and breathed a sigh of relief. "It feels good to hear it coming from you. It feels as if a massive weight was lifted off of my shoulders."

She chuckled and said, "Nico, please, give yourself a break and live a little."

He nodded and broke the hug. "Another thing is that Thalia quit the Hunt because of me. What should I do about it? No one chose me before."

"That's why I told you the world is changing. Why don't you just go with the flow and follow this?" She beamed as she let her hand settle across Nico's chest.

"I am no son of Aphrodite!" He exclaimed and swatted her hand away playfully.

This made her laugh harder and pulled him in for another hug. "Just trust your heart this time, okay?"

"Okay," he finally gave in and returned her hug.

"I'll see you soon. I love you, Nico!"

"I love you, too, Bianca!"

Nico woke with a start but a smile spread across his lips. He really needed that talk with Bianca. Glancing quickly on his bedside table, he blinked away the sleepiness off of his eyes. 4:28 pm, the clock glared at him. What happened to my nap? He thought and slipped on his trainers and hurriedly went to the infirmary to check if Thalia is still there.

Unfortunately, no one occupies the infirmary as of the moment and it seems that Thalia got discharged already. Where to find her? He thought as he made his way to her cabin. No sign of life there and he is now getting nervous. Am I doing the right thing? He thought as he trudged towards the beach, wanting to have a piece of mind. Nah, I should just trust my heart, right? Bianca said so, he thought.

His heart started beating wildly in his chest as he saw her along the shore, deep in thought. He tried to back away, making two steps backward but fought it. Oh, gods, it's now or never, he thought and made his way towards her.

"Hey, pinecone face!" He started with a shaky voice. Great way of starting a conversation, he thought disapprovingly.

Thalia jumped at the voice and quickly turned around. Her heart drummed against her ribcage once again. "Don't creep up on people like that and don't call me that!" She said as she clutched her heart as if trying to calm her heart at the sight of him. Is this for real? He's talking to me now? She thought.

"Sorry," he said and ran his hand through his hair. His cheeks tinged a shade of red. "How are you feeling?"

"To be honest?" She asked. "I'm feeling a bit confused. Why are you talking to me now?"

"Don't you want me to talk with you?" He asked, shock written across his face before he could mask it.

"No, not like that," she sighed. "It's just that you've been ignoring me for weeks and now you act as if nothing happened."

"Well, I got Annabeth and Bianca talking to me—"

"You've talked with Bianca?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, I've talked to her in my dream. That's where we communicate, I guess?" He replied and she gestured for him to go on. "And I might have been way out of line, I guess? I just acted immaturely."

"Okay, way to go in breaking a girl's heart who just got out of the Hunt," she scoffed and rolled her eyes heavenwards.

"Look, I came here to apologize," he countered, already predicting her reaction. "Wait, scratch that. I came here to compromise?"

Thalia froze and her breath hitched as he stepped closer to her. "I know I acted like a jerk but this time, no more running around."

He took another step towards her, not knowing where all his new found courage came from and her eyes grew wider. "I want to apologize for acting that way. No one chose me before and I am now willing to accept it. Three years ago, back in Montauk, I was the happiest then. Maybe after winning the war, but there's more to it. I thought it was just puppy love, but I seem to long for you for the past three years."

He took another step; they were only a feet apart. Electric-blue eyes locked with obsidian-black eyes. "I know this sounds way out of character but I want to thank you, Thalia. I want to thank you for coming back. This is definitely selfish of me but I am thankful that you quit the Hunt. The gods might kill me for saying this and also for doing this."

He closed the gap between them, praying to the gods to forgive him for doing this. He hugged her. You see, they've hugged quite a few times before but this one's different. There's a new sensation in it. She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. She felt comfort and safe in his lean arms wrapped around her. This made her wrap her arms around him too. Thunder boomed in the sky and the ground shook beneath them but this didn't seem to falter them.

"Thank gods I'm still alive for doing this," he whispered and hugged her tighter. He released a breath he did not know he was holding in. She nodded her head in agreement for no words came out of her mouth as relief flooded her. "Thalia, I know this seems to be fast but the world is changing. I want to try this."

"What do you mean?" She said hoarsely. Gods, what happened to my voice? She thought as she broke their hug but they were still in each other's arms.

"I want to open up to you. I want to prove you worthy for leaving the Hunt because of me. I want to try us," he explained and the words just came out of his mouth willingly.

"I want to try us too," she whispered back. There were a lot of questions in her mind but she halted them for she did not want to ruin this moment and a smile was now creeping to her lips. Oops, wrong move, she thought because their eye contact broke and his eyes locked to her lips.

"Good because I wouldn't even take no for an answer," he chuckled. His laugh vibrated through him and it was infectious that Thalia chuckled too. "I also want to try this too."

Before she could even ask what it was, he fluttered his eyes close and leaned in. He removed his arms from her back and she felt great loss by it but it was replaced by her heart beating wildly against her chest as he placed a hand on the sides of her face, stroking her cheek. Her breath hitched as soft lips landed on her lips. She fluttered her eyes shut as a new sensation ran through her body.

Every nerve in her body seemed to ignite into a consuming fire. Her stomach dropped as if she was on a rollercoaster. She almost can't feel her limbs. Her heart beats faster than it has all day and she wrapped her arms around his neck, then to his unruly black hair. Gods, how am I still living right now? I was finally able to do that, Thalia thought. Sensing this, he placed one hand behind her back for support because her knees almost bucked in delight from the kiss. On the other hand, Nico feels the same way as Thalia but also praying to the gods to live a long life for being bold enough to kiss a daughter of Zeus.

Thunder rumbled through the sky and the ground shook but they both brushed it away. A few raindrops began to fall, landing on their forehead and shoulders. He pulled away, breaking the kiss, leaving just their foreheads touching. They smiled at each other and she giggled. Oh gods, I am giggling! I don't giggle! Never mind, she thought and smiled even wider. He encased her in a tight hug, her head buried in his shoulder. The rain began to pour steadily.

Little did they know that Percy and Annabeth were just a few feet behind them and exchanging looks; Percy a triumphant one for he won the bet. Annabeth, on the other hand, was trying to replace the smile on her face, thinking that she lost the bet. But was having difficulties for she was also happy for them.

Going back to the matter at hand, Thalia broke the silence and giggled once more. "Gods, I have waited so long for that!"

"Same here. Now I can say that you're my first kiss and not Percy," he chuckled and Thalia laughed harder.

"I still can't believe that we're still alive. Gods know what they're plotting against us now!" Thalia stated and broke the hug but remained in his arms. Electric-blue eyes connected with obsidian-black eyes. Same emotion reflected on their eyes, affection.

In this moment, it's just Thalia and Nico in this world, and no one else. Not minding that it was only raining on them and the other parts of the beach was completely dry.

I don't know how we got here, but I'm so glad we did, they both thought at the same time and leaned in for another kiss.

THE END!

Date Completed: June 23, 2020